


Mistletoe, Quicksand, and Other Media Exaggerations

by Chash



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-09-15 21:37:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9258275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chash/pseuds/Chash
Summary: Bellamy sort of figured that incredibly awkward mistletoe encounters were one of those things that were entirely an invention of the media, because he's only ever gotten caught under the mistletoe twice, and both times were a total non-event.He's not prepared for it to cause an actual issue in Clarke's life, but he'll do whatever she needs to help her get through it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so, Brit and I were watching A Christmas Kiss II last month because bad Christmas movies are our jam, but we were super enraged because it was a movie about a girl fake dating her cute neighbor/BFF and then getting together with this asshole millionaire who didn't listen when she told him she wasn't interested, so this is basically a fix-it fic for a TV movie because fuck you, A Christmas Kiss II.
> 
> Also, Lexa is playing the asshole millionaire in this, so if you are a fan of hers, please be advised Bellamy is not.

"So, what's the right thing to do when you're under mistletoe with a stranger?"

Bellamy considers the question. It's fairly tame, in terms of conversation starters from Clarke. Usually when she bursts into his apartment after work, it's because she's pissed, and she's already ranting and raving by the time the door is closed. But he's pretty sure mistletoe etiquette isn't the kind of thing you bring up for purely hypothetical reasons, so ideally the ranting is coming.

"I don't know," he says. "I guess it kind of depends. The only time I've ever actually seen mistletoe is at parties, and everyone knows it's there. But I usually take the other person's lead, I guess. This has only happened like twice in my life, by the way," he adds. "The media made me think mistletoe would be a much bigger issue than it actually has been. Like quicksand and fires."

Clarke snorts and sits down on one of the stools at the kitchen counter. He opens up a beer and passes it to her, and she raises it. "Thanks."

"Sure. So, what happened?"

"Someone put mistletoe in the elevator at work."

"Jesus, that sounds like a shitty idea. Who wants to deal with mistletoe at work? I don't even want to deal with it at parties."

"Right?" asks Clarke. "Who wanted that?"

"So, how did you deal with it?"

"Made out with some girl in the elevator."

He freezes, but just for a second. Not long enough he thinks she notices. "That seems like a pretty good solution." 

"Yeah, but--it's weird, right? I was all ready to ignore it or laugh it off and she just--took a look at me and said, _no, of course not_ and went for it."

"Huh."

"How much effort is it taking to not sound judgmental right now?"

"I'm trying to take my cues from you, but I can't really tell how you're feeling about this. I'd be pretty weirded out if some random stranger decided they wanted to make out, but it's your call."

"She was a good kisser," Clarke says. "I wasn't going to just _not_ kiss her back."

"Yeah, god forbid a stranger think they had better game than you," he teases.

"That's not what happened."

He smiles at her petulant scowl. "Okay, so tell me what _did_ happen."

The scowl deepens. "Okay, that's _a little_ what happened. But it wasn't--you can't just not kiss someone back, okay? Not a stranger."

"That sounds a lot easier than not kissing back, like, a friend," he muses. "Not like you're going to hurt her feelings."

"Please, like you could just not kiss someone back."

It's actually an interesting question, much like the mistletoe one was. He honestly has no idea what he'd do. It _does_ feel a little rude, theoretically just freezing when someone else was kissing him. Even if he didn't know them.

"Okay, fine, yeah," he says. "I'd probably kiss back. Did you get her number?"

"Of course not." She drums her fingers on his counter top. "It was a good kiss, but it was _weird_. The quality of the kiss doesn't mean anything."

He leans over the pot of stew he's stirring so she won't see his smile. He knows, when he thinks about it, that being hopelessly in love with his neighbor is pathetic. Even if she's much more than his neighbor, at this point. They met because her mail was getting delivered to him by mistake, and became friends by virtue of her being new in town and not really knowing anyone. Bellamy's not great at making friends with people, and he hadn't really expected Clarke's knocking on his door and asking if he wanted to get drunk to go anywhere aside from maybe some casual sex. But instead they watched documentaries on Netflix and yelled through a few seasons of _Top Chef_ , and the next thing he knew, Clarke was the most important person in his life, outside of his sister, and it's just normal for her to come in after work, let him feed her dinner, and complain to him about anything and everything.

"Yeah, that's honestly one of the weirdest things I've ever heard. But I guess at least someone I know has now had an actual mistletoe experience, so that's cool. I thought it was a myth."

"Glad I could help out," says Clarke. She slides off the stool and leans over the stove with him, peering into the pot. "What's for dinner?"

*

**Clarke** : Remember the mistletoe thing?

**Me** : No  
I have amnesia  
Who are you?

**Clarke** : Elevator girl is Anya's business partner  
I made out with my new boss

**Me** : Wow  
That's wildly inappropriate

**Clarke** : I didn't know!!!

**Me** : I meant her  
She's the one in a position of power  
I know she didn't know either, but kissing people in an elevator when you might be their boss is fucked up

**Clarke** : Yeah  
You're not going to like the next part

**Me** : I didn't like the first part  
What's the next part?

**Clarke** : She asked me out so I said I had a boyfriend  
And then I had to backpedal and clarify I was bisexual so now she doesn't believe me about the boyfriend

**Me** : How does that make sense?  
Also do you have an HR department?

**Clarke** : She said if I really had a boyfriend I wouldn't be telling her I was bi  
And then it turned into like a twenty-minute tirade about biphobia and hetereonormativity  
Which I think she thought was cute so  
Can you come down on your lunch break and pretend to be my boyfriend?

**Me** : What

**Clarke** : Just bring me some Subway or something  
Or something from that fancy bakery you like because you think it's healthier and it's a local business  
I'll pay you back  
Please?

**Me** : There has to be a better way to get out of this situation  
Like reporting this to your HR department

**Clarke** : Please?

**Me** : Yeah, I'll see you soon

*

Clarke works at a graphic design firm a few blocks from the museum, but Bellamy still doesn't go to visit very often. He's not a big fan of her boss, who doesn't appreciate Clarke like she deserves, as far as he's concerned. Clarke's an amazing artist, but Anya never lets her contribute ideas of her own, and Bellamy always finds himself wanting to start stupid fights with her when he sees her. Which is not a productive thing to do to your best friend's boss, so he just minds his own business as much as possible.

The receptionist still greets him by name and tells him Clarke is in the conference room with Lexa, so apparently he's not as good at not being a part of her work life as he thought. 

The conference room door is open and Clarke is talking to a fairly severe-looking brunette, so he just knocks on the doorjamb, giving them a sheepish smile when they jump at the sound.

"Hey, I've got lunch for you," he tells Clarke, holding up the bag. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt."

Clarke beams at him, so strong it's actually a little staggering. "No, that's fine. I totally lost track of time. Thanks for coming by." She comes over and leans up to peck him on the cheek, which is simultaneously staggering and probably a little unconvincing, but he assumes she's hit her quota for actually making out with people in her office building this week. That's the kind of thing you don't want to make a habit out of. 

"No problem. If you'd just let me make you lunch, this wouldn't happen," he adds, teasing, for good measure. It's an old argument, because he likes making food in large batches, and Clarke always insists on contributing to groceries, so making her lunches wouldn't be _hard_. But she's convinced he shouldn't put himself out. 

She rolls her eyes, like always. "You have enough to do without making me lunch every morning."

"Whereas buying it for you takes no time out of my day."

The woman on the other side of the conference room clears her throat, and Bellamy gives her a somewhat guilty smile. He and Clarke tend to get caught up in each other and forget about everyone else; he feels a little bad for strangers who are caught up unaware.

"Sorry, Lexa, this is my boyfriend, Bellamy. Bellamy, this is Lexa. She's Anya's partner."

He'd assumed that Lexa was the woman from the elevator, but he can't help looking at her with a slightly more critical eye now that he _knows_ that. She's Clarke's type, from what he knows of her type, and even a little bit his, although given her disdainful expression, he's pretty sure the feeling is not mutual.

Which is more than fine; he's not looking anyway.

"She's the one from the elevator," Clarke adds unnecessarily, and Lexa does look mildly alarmed at that. She has the kind of face where he's not sure any of her emotions ever get past _mild_.

He might also be biased.

"Nice to meet you," he says, offering his hand. "I've heard a surprising amount about you."

"Apparently," she says. She gives him another critical once-over. "Well, nice to meet you. I'll leave the two of you alone. Clarke, you should bring your designs by on Monday. I'd love to see them."

"Sure," says Clarke, but she doesn't really sound convinced. 

"You owe me," he tells her, once they're alone.

"Did you buy food for yourself too?" She peers into the bag, grins. "You did. Come on, we can eat in my office."

"I have to stay to eat now too?" he teases. "Jesus, being your boyfriend is a pain."

"Yeah, sucks to be you. Coming?"

"Coming," he agrees. "But you're buying beer on the way home."

"You say that like it's new. You provide food, I provide alcohol. It's a symbiotic relationship."

"Oh, is that what it is?" She elbows him, and he waits until they're in her office and unwrapping their sandwiches to ask, "She wants to see your designs?"

Clarke shrugs, but it doesn't land as casually as she wants it to. "She thinks I have _potential_. Which is cool, but I can't tell how much of that is real and how much is just because she wants to make out again."

"And you don't?" 

"She's my boss."

"If she doesn't care and Anya doesn't care and you don't care and you don't have an HR department, it's fine."

Clarke snorts. "Nothing says _good relationship foundation_ like an extensive list of caveats." 

"It's nice to have to fill out forms in triplicate, just to make sure everyone is on the same page." It's not the kind of thing he really wants to push her on--he'd much rather she just wasn't interested in the first place--but the whole thing is just weird enough he can't help being curious. "Seriously, do you want to date her? I'm not judging, I'm just trying to figure out what you want from me here."

"Fake boyfriend."

"Because that's the best way to deal with it?" he asks. "Seriously, why is _no_ not sufficient?"

"Because people suck? I don't know. And she's my boss, I don't want to just tell her I'm not interested. Not, you know. Really aggressively."

"Yeah." He rubs his face. "Just tell me what you need, I guess."

Her smile is soft, and it's enough to make his heart jump. "Thanks, Bellamy. I know you think this is stupid."

"I don't think it's stupid. I think it's either wildly inappropriate or just kind of lowkey inappropriate, depending on how you feel about it, but as long as you're not upset, I'm not going to tell you that you should be." He pauses. "But you should show her your designs. If she can help you get Anya to let you do your own creative work, that's awesome."

"You don't think that's lowkey inappropriate?"

"Hell no. Clarke, you're an amazing artist. Anything that makes your boss realize that is cool with me."

"I'm not convinced this is going to do that."

"What's the worst that can happen?" he asks, and immediately starts thinking about it. "I guess she could steal your designs, but if you document it, they can't get away with it, so--" She's laughing, and he lets himself smile. "Sorry. You know I think Anya doesn't appreciate you like you deserve. If Lexa does, I'm glad."

She kisses him on the cheek before he leaves again. "Thanks, Bellamy. Seriously, this is above and beyond."

"I bring you food all the time," he points out. "You just usually don't appreciate me like you should."

She smiles, but it really doesn't sound like a joke when she says, "I really don't. Go back to work."

On his way out, he sees Anya and Lexa talking, gives an awkward wave that feels even more awkward when Lexa excuses herself to walk with him.

"So, you're the boyfriend," she says, like she doesn't believe it. Which, even though she's right not to, is still really shitty of her. Just because Clarke is lying doesn't mean it's okay for Lexa to care about her relationship status. 

They really need an HR department.

"I'm the boyfriend," he confirms. "Why?"

She looks him up and down with a critical eye. Which is seriously getting old. "She told you about the elevator?"

"Yeah." He pauses, but he can't help asking, "Are you really supposed to be interrogating your employees' significant others on their lunch breaks? That seems kind of unprofessional."

To his annoyance, she smirks, like he's giving something away. Like he wouldn't have said that if he and Clarke really were dating. He definitely would. Even if it's probably a stupid thing to say, all things considered. He's not the most inappropriate person here. He's doing fine.

"My apologies. It was nice to meet you, Bellamy. I hope we see each other again."

"Yeah," he mutters, once she's gone. "Can't wait."

*

"I don't know why you think I'm going to be able to help with this," Clarke says, poking at a mechanical Santa like it's going to attack her. "I don't have a normal sister, let alone an estranged sister who I raised for five years before she left to go find herself in Alaska. And it's not like I'm good at buying presents in the first place."

"I just want sympathy," he says. "Someone to tell me this sucks and I'm doing my best. Fuck, she's probably not even going to remember to send me anything. She's a Buddhist now or something."

"Doesn't that mean you don't have to get her anything?"

"I'm pretty sure she'd remember Christmas if I didn't get her anything."

"That seems totally fair."

"She'll send me something after she gets my present and feels guilty. It's fine," he adds, because it is, really. He's used to it. But it's not like he doesn't tell Clarke this stuff so she can be pissed on his behalf. He doesn't know how to be annoyed, not all the way, but Clarke picks up the rest of the slack. Team emotions are awesome. "She'll send me something extra nice because she feels bad."

"I'm just going to get you something nice to start with," she says, and he snorts.

"Yeah, there's no way. You spend months trying to think of something, don't, and then end up getting me a cookbook, a bottle of booze, and a novelty item with a Latin phrase on it. Every year."

"Are you saying those aren't nice?"

"You do know what I like." He sighs. "This would be easier if I got more than periodic texts and instagram updates from her. Her coat doesn't look warm enough, but I'm pretty sure if I sent her a new coat or hat or anything she'd send it back because I worry too much."

"Probably. What's she doing for work right now? Can you get her a book or something?"

"Yeah, but I want to get her something she'll like," he points out, and Clarke sticks her tongue out at him.

"I can't believe any relative of yours doesn't like books."

"Okay, yeah," he admits. "But she's in denial about it. She's still pretending she's an illiterate badass or something."

"No wonder you don't know what to get her."

"I could just send cash, but then she'd probably say I thought she couldn't take care of herself."

He feels her hand on his arm, a surprising stroke of warm reassurance, and the smile he gives her is definitely more than a little goofy. "If you send her something she doesn't like, that doesn't make you a bad brother. It makes her a bad sister."

"Yeah?"

"Who doesn't want cash for Christmas, Bellamy? That's just looking for things to complain about."

"Yeah, okay," he grants. "Maybe a gift card? Fuck."

"If you want me to help, you need to stop talking yourself out of presents," she advises, but her tone is more gentle than teasing. Which just makes him feel worse.

"Like I said, it's mostly just commiseration. Tell me my life sucks."

"Oh yeah, it's awful. The absolute worst."

"Thanks. I feel better now."

She actually slides her arm into his, to his mild alarm, and when he raises his eyebrows, she leans up with a smile. "I see Lexa at that Starbucks," she murmurs, "so I'm switching to girlfriend mode. Sorry."

"That's cool," he says, and lets himself lean in too. "Should I be doing anything? What does boyfriend mode look like?"

"Last time was fine."

"Really? Because I thought she thought we were bullshitting her."

"Okay, she did. But that was just because she couldn't believe I'd tell my boyfriend I kissed someone else like I kissed her. I told her it would have been weirder if I didn't tell you."

"Would you have kissed her back?" he asks, curious in spite of himself. "If we were actually dating? That is kind of suspicious."

"I don't know." She leans her head on his shoulder, and it feels really natural, if he does say so himself. He could definitely do this more. "It's not like I was thinking about--anything. I just got caught up in the weirdness. And I'd definitely tell you if that happened."

"Yeah," he says, feeling oddly sure about it. "Probably not the same way, though."

"No, I would have just told you I made out with someone else by accident."

"Which obviously happens all the time."

"Obviously."

"It's weird that she was trying to call you out on this," he points out. "Seriously. Trying to investigate if an employee is lying about their relationship status is weird. Unless you were trying to get me on your health insurance or something. But you're not defrauding the company, you just want her to not hit on you."

"Your opinion on how creepy this is has been noted," she says. "I don't know. It's weird, but not, like--" He raises his eyebrows, and she folds. "Yeah, okay, I know. No means no, complete sentence, it's weird, even without the authority thing, which makes it weirder. Shut up!" she adds, elbowing him when he smiles. "You wouldn't be prepared to deal with this situation either."

"I have an HR department, so, yes, I would be." He gives her arm a squeeze. "Head's up, she noticed us. If she wasn't inappropriate, she wouldn't come over."

"Actually, I think she would. If we weren't assholes, we would have gone to say hi to her. You suck at human interaction."

"So do you." He gives Lexa an overly bright smile. "Hey, good to see you. Lexa, right?"

"Bellamy. Clarke. What brings you here?"

"Christmas shopping. Clarke's helping me find something for my sister."

"Not really. I'm just heckling."

"But in a helpful way."

"I hope so." She smiles at Lexa with seemingly genuine friendliness. "What about you?"

"Just exploring the city."

Clarke glances at him, unsure, so he's the one to tell Lexa, "You're welcome to tag along with us, if you want."

"Thank you, that's a very generous offer," she says. "How old is your sister? What does she like?"

It's surprisingly not bad, hanging out with Lexa. Not that he hated her, based on their very limited interactions, but talking to her more, he gets why Clarke isn't as uncomfortable with the whole thing as he thought she might be. Lexa is awkward and a little too forceful, and definitely too aware of how he and Clarke interact, but he thinks Lexa just--likes her and is kind of socially inept. Which Bellamy can relate to.

And, as a bonus, he gets to act like Clarke's boyfriend nonstop, which is way easier than it should be. He takes her hand when it gets crowded, and her fingers slide into his naturally, hold on warm and close.

He doesn't let go when they go into the store, and when Clarke finally does, to look at a book, she immediately reclaims his hand once she's done.

So, yeah. It's a great afternoon. Absolutely perfect.

He ends up getting Octavia a Lego set, because she loves Legos and he used to get them for her when she was a kid, saving all year to get her just one nice set. It's a nice throwback, and she'll definitely enjoy it, even if he'll have to pay way too much for shipping.

"I'm freezing," Clarke says after he's paid, giving his fingers a quick squeeze. "You guys want to get coffee?"

He glances at Lexa, who shrugs, and shrugs himself. "Yeah, I could get a drink."

Once they're settled in at a table with drinks, the questions start, which Bellamy really should have seen coming.

"So, how did the two of you meet?" Lexa asks.

"We're neighbors," says Clarke. "There was an issue with our mail, and I didn't know anyone in town yet, so once we started talking, I kind of latched on to him."

"Yeah, I couldn't get rid of her so I just kind of gave in. It wasn't worth fighting it."

"Dick."

"Apparently that's your type."

"Apparently."

Lexa doesn't look even a little charmed by their bickering. "How long have the two of you been dating?"

"Just a few months," he says. "It's still pretty new, but--she's been my best friend for years."

"He was dating someone else up until, what, August?" Clarke says, to his surprise. He had been dating Gina on and off for about four months, but it wasn't actually anything very serious. Casual sex that they decided to stop when they agreed it wouldn't ever be anything more. "So I didn't want to make a move when he was rebounding."

"It was barely a rebound," he teases, nudging her. "We were just hooking up while she pined after her coworker and I--" 

Lexa is watching with interest, so he can't not say it. And it's plausible they wouldn't have talked about it. Just--it's a little too true. He was sort of trying to avoid that

"I was pining after you," he admits, with a wry smile. "So not making a move because of that was really not a great plan."

"Well it's not like sleeping with someone else is a great way to signal that you're interested," Clarke says.

"Yeah, well, you've known I'm shitty at feelings for years." He kisses her temple. "Thanks for putting me out of my misery."

"Like anyone could ever totally get you out of your misery." She turns her attention back to Lexa, but her hand is still in his. They've been holding hands for a really long time. He's pretty sure they're laying it on too thick; normal couples probably don't hold hands this much. It's not a big deal for them. "What about you?" she asks. "You said you had a girlfriend, right?"

Bellamy's sympathy for Lexa rapidly evaporates. 

"It's complicated," she says, which is one of those phrases that immediately sets him on edge. It does more than that to Clarke, who had some guy in college use it to justify cheating on his girlfriend with her. So he's not sure how she's looking so calm. "I moved, she didn't."

"Long distance," says Bellamy, too sharp, and Clarke squeezes his fingers. "It's a thing."

"That's what I told her, yes."

"Did you tell her you made out with another girl in an elevator?" he asks, moderating his voice with effort. 

"It wasn't anything, was it?" she asks. He can't tell if it's supposed to hurt Clarke, but from what he can tell, it doesn't. She doesn't tense, and her expression doesn't falter. "After all, Clarke is taken."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he says, and turns the conversation to Lexa's girlfriend, half from curiosity and half from pettiness.

Clarke squeezes his fingers every time he gets too aggressive, too. That's a nice bonus.

When they part ways, it's on basically good terms, and Clarke keeps a hold on him, leaning into his side with a small smile.

"Good restraint. I thought you were going to give her a lecture on fidelity."

" _Open long-distance while we figure it out_ sounds like a recipe for disaster to me," he grumbles. "But that's her business. And she shouldn't be hitting on you for like fifteen different reasons now."

"I think she'll stop."

"Yeah? We're a convincing couple?"

She ducks her head. "Pretty convincing, yeah."

*

He makes dinner as usual, and they stretch out on the couch to continue their _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ marathon, and it feels a lot like a relationship. It's definitely exactly what he wants.

He starts drifting off after a few hours, and Clarke insists on switching to _Bob's Burgers_ , so he doesn't miss out on important plot points, and it makes him smile.

"You're not just leaving?" he asks.

"I don't want to leave yet," she says, and he warms down to his toes.

"Cool. I'm falling asleep on you."

"Cool."

He dozes with her fingers tangled in his hair, and he's thinking about doing something stupid, like kissing her shoulder and trying to play it off as just sleepiness if she's not into it.

But--he really thinks she might be. He's feeling hopeful, like he never has before. He was telling the truth about what happened with him and Gina; maybe she was telling the truth about thinking he was on the rebound and not wanting to make a move.

Her phone buzzes, and she picks it up with her spare hand, still petting him with the other, pausing only when he stirs. But all he has to do is butt her and she starts again.

"What's up?" he asks.

"Lexa saying she had a good time today. And telling me she had a chance to look at my designs."

"Yeah?" He sits up for that, and Clarke curls into him, easy as anything, so he can see her phone too.

"She says they're good," she says, like he can't read it for himself.

"They are good. You know that. You don't need her to tell you."

She smiles. "I don't, no. But it's nice anyway."

"So, is it the girlfriend?" he asks. "Is that why you're not interested?"

The text from Lexa pops up: _Is Bellamy there?_

Clarke texts back: _Falling asleep on me._

"Not anymore," he grumbles, and she laughs.

"I don't mind."

Apparently Lexa thinks she should, because her next text is: _I can't believe he doesn't find you more stimulating._

"Jesus," he mutters. "I draw the line at her trying to break us up. Via text message."

"You drew the line a while ago." She pauses, writes, _Good call, I'd better go stimulate him. Night!_ and then puts the phone on mute. "It has nothing to do with her having a girlfriend," she tells him, firm. "Like--not even a little."

He swallows. "Yeah?"

"Like you said, it's inappropriate for a thousand reasons, but even if it wasn't, I wouldn't be interested. Even if she was a nice, single girl who asked me on a date, I would have turned her down. Because I want _you_."

He's had this fantasy before, minus the fake-dating assist from Clarke's boss. Or--from Clarke. She's the one who came up with the boyfriend excuse. She's the one who called him, who told not just Lexa, but anyone Lexa might have talked to that they were together. Some of her coworkers probably heard. Anya probably did.

She's serious about this. And he's thought about it so many times, he knows exactly what he wants to do.

He slides his hand into her hair and kisses her, no hesitation, like he's thought of doing so many times. Her fingers tangle in his shirt, tugging him closer, and she kisses back just as eagerly, just as certain.

"I know you think it's impolite to not kiss someone back, so--" he teases, and she laughs and wraps her arms around him, face buried against his neck.

"I'm the one who did the love confession. Were you seriously pining for me when you were dating Gina?"

"It was barely dating," he protests. "Friends with benefits."

"I was really jealous," Clarke admits. "You never really dated before that. Just hookups. And then you were--"

"So, it was a good thing?" he asks. He hasn't stopped grinning. His mouth might be stuck like this. "That's what did it?"

"I already--I knew," she says. "But that made me really sure."

"And you didn't want to tell me when I was rebounding."

"Just for the first month or two. Then I didn't know what to say."

"I have no idea how you came up with this," he teases, leaning in for another kiss. 

"Just lucky, I guess." She pulls back, worrying her lip, all seriousness. "So, do you want to really be my boyfriend?"

Somehow, it really sounds like she thinks he might say _no_.

"Fuck, I thought you'd never ask," he says, and there's no more talking for a while.

*

"So, when did you actually start dating her?"

Bellamy takes a sip of wine, watching Clarke talk to one of the partners from the firm and Lexa's girlfriend. Bellamy's generally still kind of confused about the whole situation, but apparently Costia didn't think Lexa was really leaving, and it was some kind of--well, seriously, he doesn't know. But they seem to have worked it out, and he's happier for them than not. 

Plus, Lexa believes that he's dating Clarke now. Which, to be fair, apparently she has great instincts for this stuff, but he's glad she's not longer in denial about it now that it's true.

"The day we went shopping with you," he says. "So, thanks, I guess. I'm dating the girl I was in love with now, so that's cool. I still think your whole vibe is kind of inappropriate and you need an HR department."

"I'm glad your hostility wasn't just jealousy-based," she says, just as casual. 

"Nope, that's genuinely something that worries me. If Clarke gets more influence, I'm going to make sure someone sets it up. Employee rights are important."

That finally gets her expression to flag a little. "Obviously. I'm--happy for the two of you. I hope it works out."

"You and Costia too," he says.

Clarke gets herself out of her conversation and grabs another glass of wine from a waiter on her way to him. Bellamy knows that, in theory, this wine is really expensive and better than the shitty wine Clarke buys them, but he's never been able to taste enough of a difference that he could justify paying the difference himself. He's pretty sure Clarke feels the same way, but she also thinks that she should always take advantage of having really expensive wine, and therefore drinks even more than usual. He's going to have to drag her home, but at least she's good at retaining her sense of professionalism even when wasted.

"I am _awesome_ at everything," she tells him, tucking herself into his side, because she knows she doesn't have to be professional with him.

That's pretty great too. Lexa even excuses herself to give them privacy.

"You are," he tells her, fond. "I told you so. I want it on the record that I believed in you before Lexa did. And before Anya did. I was on Team Clarke first."

"Yeah, but you don't have decision-making power in the firm, so it didn't really do me that much good. Except for, you know. Your unconditional love and support."

"Yeah, but fuck that. Job validation is the most important thing."

Clarke laughs. "Of course." She takes his wine and drains it. "I love work parties."

"I love how you steal my _free booze_ ," he teases. "You know you can just get more, right? No one's going to stop you."

"I like yours better," she says. "Besides, you don't mind sharing, right? Boyfriend duties."

"That's probably the most normal boyfriend duty you've ever given me. Aside from, you know, sex."

"The rest were fake boyfriend duties," she says. "And you totally loved them."

"Best fake dating I've ever done. But I think we should stick to regular from now on. It works a lot better for me."

"Me too." She grins, sudden and sly. "Hey, you want to go see if there's still mistletoe in the elevator?"

He tangles their fingers together and lets her tug him along with her. "You think we need an excuse to make out?"

"I never say no to one."

"Yeah, good point. Lead the way."


End file.
